Thinking about buying a car? Cars make a big impact on the environment, so here are some ideas to help you reduce that impact.

You might like to look at car clubs before you buy. The idea is that you share a car with others by jointly leasing. See Carplus (0113 234 9299) and Liftshare (08700 780225) for more information.

The technology is constantly changing, and all types of car have advantages and disadvantages. So to some extent your choice will depend on whether you are buying new or second-hand, and what you want to use it for. For example, an electric car is a good option, but only suitable for short journeys. An electric car with a solar panel or windmill to recharge it would be a very green option. Electric cars pay no road tax or congestion charge. The Reva G-Wiz is the only one I know about, available from GoinGreen, phone 020 8574 3232.

I prefer a petrol engine with a catalytic converter rather than diesel, but the catalytic converter only works when the engine is hot, so does nothing on very short journeys. I have heard some diesels now have catalytic converters, but I don't know anything about them. Diesels have the advantage that you can use a proportion of bio-diesel if you can get it. Gas is environmentally a bit better, but hard to get. Hybrid cars (i.e. petrol-electric) may have slightly lower fuel consumption but are much more complex, so will have a shorter life.

In general the lower the fuel consumption the better, so go for the smallest car you can generally manage with, and hire a bigger car occasionally. Buying a second-hand car is better than new because of the high environmental cost of manufacture and disposal. Manual gears are better than automatic. Air conditioning uses a lot of power, so a sun roof is better.

There is good general advice and comparisons between specific models in the ETA Car Buyer's Guide. I would also strongly recommend the ETA (0800 212 810) as a breakdown service, as the AA, RAC and Green Flag all actively support the road lobby. The Ethical Consumer did a piece recently. They look at how ethical the company is. They recommend G-Wiz, Nissan/Renault, Audi/Volkswagen/Skoda, Peugeot/Citroen, Honda and Hyundai in roughly that order.

Alan

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